Philophobia
by xXDark AceXx
Summary: After a tough past Roxas finally seeks a change in his life, a new start but, how? how can he when certain annoying brunet makes his life impossible? Rated M for strong language and BoyxBoy
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! so this is one of my first fictions. i had this idea bugging in my head and i could not get it out! So please any kind of feedback or positive critisism is highly apreciated, (even guests!) i'd like to thank a lonley dreamer for the support!**

**this contains mature themes, homosexuality and strong lenguage, if any of these offends you please leave this fiction.**

**disclaimer: all the characters belong to Square Enix and Disney, i own nothing but the plot.**

**Philophobia **

"Roxas!" a desperate voice came from the darkness, the frantic tone in it was overwhelming. The anxiety, the preoccupation and desperation were too much for him to bear.

"Are you okay!?" the familiar voice reappeared, it was closer this time but he wouldn't answer, he couldn't even if he wanted to; his body was paralyzed as the knot in his throat was preventing him to make any sound, he was forced to snap his eyes open though when he felt a grab on his shoulders shaking him lightly.

"Roxas?"

He wished he didn't open those watery eyes for the sight before him broke his hearth all over again… She wasn't moving. The burning and stinging sensation made itself present once again as his vision turned blurry.

"No…" The now shaky voice choked out

"Roxas what did you do!? What did you do!? **ROXAS!**"

"Roxas! Roxas! Roxas!..." the frantic girl jumped over the bed in failed attempts to wake her brother up. Well that's not too much of a problem, she would just keep at it until it'd work, she had done this far too many times and was aware that eventually it **would** work.

This time around Roxas woke up rather quickly though and of course it had nothing to do with the fact that Namine had accidentally stepped on him, or at least that's what she liked to believe, either way she was glad when saw her brother snapping up (not because of the shock of pain that he just suffered) and stirring slowly to clean the sleep off his eyes with his palm.

"Roxas!" she said cheerfully as she lowered down to hug him tightly.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the other twenty times y'know?" Roxas Replied with a monotonous tone of voice while hugging back with only one arm. The girl couldn't help but laugh at the blonds' statement "Nami, I thought I told you that you were too old to keep doing that"

The younger teen (or at least she liked to call herself as one) let go of the other with a toothy grin on her features "No-ho, you're never too old to annoy you big brother"

Roxas chuckled at that" Remind me that one next time we're hanging out with Cloud, alright?"

"Who, by the way, is waiting for you downstairs. He doesn't want you to be late on your first day" Namine replied leaning her body to the side and tilting her head, Roxas would never admit that she looked cute with all of her antics and those silly bunny pajama pants

Roxas smiled fondly "I'll be there in a minute"

"Don't be late"

Roxas saw his sister skip off the room and then proceeded to sit straight up allowing his bare feet to touch the carpeted floor from the right side of the bed. The blonds' smile was long gone. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let go of a tired breath… it's been a while since he had that nightmare

Turning around he saw his very familiar room, surrounded by four light blue walls, a few posters here and there as well as some pieces of clothing scattered in the floor. He finally spotted his old uniform, clean, ironed and folded neatly on top of the night stand. He could only hope that Junior would be a better year "Well, I guess we're off to a good start huh?"

When Roxas came down the stairs he was already wearing most of the(in his opinion) hideous uniform: khaki pants, a white unbuttoned white shirt hanging loosely on top of the black tank-top with a black blazer in hand

"Good morning, everyone"

"Good morning sweetie" came Tifa's voice cheerfully, they were all sitting next to the big round table but her; she was currently leaning against the counter finishing up her plate of breakfast , Namine muffled something through her waffle-filled mouth _'Charming as ever' _Roxas thought to himself as he rolled his eyes. Cloud in the other hand never looked up from the newspaper only acknowledging Roxas's existence by saying "Where's the tie?"

"Gee, good morning to you too brother" Cloud looked up at him from above the piece of paper or rather **glared** at him in a threateningly way "I'll put the leash when I'm at the school's door, alright?"

Cloud half-smiled to himself "Stare Number 53, never fails" that earned him a couple of giggles around the table, Tifa then handed the oldest of the Strife men a plate and drew a quick kiss at his cheek.

"Oh boy, summer went really fast huh?" she started making conversation"Are you guys ready to school again?"Namine simply nodded totally blowing her off, Cloud kept himself silent while Roxas walked up to the big mirror they had in the living room and started to button his shirt up. So that went well…

"Oh I know! Are you guys entering any club this year?"

The youngest girl snapped her hear up beaming "Oh! Oh! I'll take painting class! I'll need a new sketch book!"

Well that sure was a surprise, Namine always had a good knack for any kind of visual arts and some of her works were even present in small showcases. Roxas would never admit it but he was kind of jealous about that.

"Pfft, painting? Go figure" Roxas interjected, he had already finished with the shirt and was now fixing that blond hair to be just messy enough without looking like a bird's nest, that always took most of his time

Tifa smiled knowingly, she knew how to get to Roxas' nerves "What about you Roxy?" knowingly turned into wicked "Are you finally going to struggle try-outs?"

The younger boy stopped dead in his tracks almost looking like petrified for a little too long, he finally closed his eyes and sighed. What the hell was she thinking? Struggle!?

"Uhhg, god no"

"But why not!? You say that you love it! and you're pretty good at it" she exclaimed in a high tone exasperated

"Not 'Cloud' good" Namine said casually as she sipped her glass earning a "good girl" from her biggest brother and a cold stare from the other one

"You know why I don't play struggle Tiff, I don't want to live in my brother's shadow, there's no point in it, is there?" Roxas finally added as he finished to button up and fixing small details in the shirt

"But you do live under my roof? Sorry little brother, I don't get it" Uhg! Cloud could be a total idiot sometimes. He was wearing the same smile that Tifa has. They were truly a perfect match in every way.

"Wait, I thought you didn't play Struggle because of Leonhart?" Namine replied standing up to deposit her plate in the dish washer

"Well, there's that too" Roxas answered as he putted the blazer on fixing the annoyingly tight sleeves

"Wait" Cloud finally decided to join the conversation putting down the newspaper "He still is the coach?" he was curious indeed.

"No, no. He quit a year ago, but he has an annoying brother though" Roxas grumped never looking away from the mirror only this time he stepped behind to check the final looks, yes he was careful with his appearance and yes he would deny it at any court.

"I'm so proud" Cloud grinned shaking his head

"Well, I think that's nonsense" Tifa threw in "you don't need to live Cloud's fights, if you like it you should just try it" she slammed her index finger against the table as if establishing a point

"That's exactly why I'm doing try-outs, to not face Cloud's fights"

"But-"

"**Besides**" Roxas interrupted "I already have a lot in mind; Olette's cousin, Pence, is joining the school today, I'll show him around" finally stepping away from the mirror satisfied at what he saw in it… in a completely healthy and non-creepy way of course

"That's good! You're making new friends" Roxas rolled his eyes at the raven haired girl, this was classical Tifa. He would've replied something but it really wasn't worth it, Tifa's happy-go-lucky attitude was unbreakable

"Sure Tiff, I was expecting to exchange BFF necklaces with him by the end of the day" said Roxas with deep sarcasm "Anyway, I better be going now" he walked over to the "I feel like walking today" He was already walking towards the entrance retrieving his backpack that was sitting on the couch as he passed by it

"Won't you eat your Breakfast?" Cloud asked curiously

"Well" he sat down next to the entrance door while putting his shoes on "As much as I hate the food in the school, I was going to meet Olette and Pence in advance so…"

"Alright then, take care" Cloud sent him a warm and inviting smile. He loved his brother, he smiled back at him

Just as Roxas was standing up and opening to the door to take his leave he heard his name being called. He turned around to see his brother standing behind him

"You forgot your leash" he trusted his balled fist towards Roxas with the gold and wine-red "leash" in it

Roxas rolled his eyes and threw his backpack over one shoulder "Yup" was all that he voiced out before snatching the tie from Cloud's hands, stepping out and closing the door behind him.

Truth be told Roxas knew it was way too early for him to go to school just yet, even if he actually did "felt like walking", he just felt like a good idea to pay his respects before starting the new year, he was currently on top of the old clock tower, near the train station. Yeah sure, the station was off service right now and yeah; he wasn't supposed to be there in the first place but in reality he couldn't care any less. Getting here was so easy, he climbed that old oak tree at the back of the building by the park, they never cut that big branch from which he simply jumped over the fence, it also required a bit of climbing at the side of the tower but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle.

Don't get him wrong, he was **not** one of those "Parkour Freaks", as he called them, but it was a gift that came in handy every so often, besides he could totally understand why people did things like these, it was still very freaky and stupid in his opinion but he did understand.

The blond was simply sitting next to the great clock and leaning against the wall. That Clock Tower had over 100 years old and it showed; the painting was rusty and old, some patches of the tower were broken showing the bricks underneath the concrete not to mention the vines that grew at the side of it but if anything that gave this building character, it was overall well conserved. His eyes were closed, headphones on to the maximum volume and a complete relaxed expression on his face. Some might argue that the noise coming from the device was too loud, that it would damage his hearing sense but it was actually the exact opposite; those headphones worked as ear-plugs because at any moment now the-

Roxas winced at the all too familiar explosion of noise coming from the old tower. 7:00am sharp, that clock never failed, the train station depends on it. So that means a couple of things: One being that he **really** should hurry now if he wanted to be on time, the workers would arrive at any time soon anyways and he wouldn't want to explain to them how did he entered here without any permission. But it also means the arrival of dawn, he opened his eyes and got closer to the edge now allowing his legs hang freely from the edge of the imposing tower feeling the breeze that was only available at this place of Twilight town, the sight was truly amazing.

He looked down at the streets, many cars and people rushing around to get to their jobs, schools or other commitments. It certainly was easier to look at people like this where they all just were small little beings far at the distance, they were small gears of the community, they were neither evil nor good and you couldn't possibly judge them just like they can't judge you. No compassion and no cruelty for anyone. That was probably the best part about this place: everything and everyone, even himself was completely impartial. See the problem to meet new people is that you then get involved with them whether you like it or not, yes sometimes you can have a grateful surprise but was it really worth it?

His line of thoughts was interrupted by a buzzing in his hand, a text message from Olette?, he had a couple of unread messages actually

'_Where are you!? You were supposed to meet with us 20 mins ago! :(_'

What? Did you think he lied about having to meet with Olette just to get out of his house? Well yeah it certainly sounds like something he would do but he didn't care to neither walk out on his brother nor leave his friend waiting

'_Sorry, I over slept, I'll be there in 5 okay? _' Roxas chuckled already picturing the upset face on Olette's features, and that guy Pence was with her too! '_Way to make a first impression Rox_' the blond scolded himself

'_Another 5 minutes!?, u know what? Nvm! I'll see you at lunch_'

'_Well that takes care of that_ 'Roxas thought standing up and dusting his pants off and strolling towards the service stairs "get to the second floor, jump to the next building and straight to the park" he told to himself out loud already planning how to get down form up there, he knew a shortcut to the school through the old sewers system that was unused for years now but the smell was still very unpleasant, Oh well it would have to do

By the time he got out he was greeted by quite a sight, Olette, a brown haired guy and… Axel? Perhaps he could get closer look, who knows? This might be amusing…

"Axel, c'mon! We don't have time for this! We'll be late!" the girl was completely annoyed and it showed on her voice and the way she was looking at the taller boy

"Oh? But I only want to know my little new friend here" the tall redhead answered sarcastically as he bent his body to be at the boy's height putting one arm around the shoulders of a very uncomfortable-looking chubby guy, Roxas assumed he was Pence. Axel was carrying a wallet on his other hand… '_Oh, I see what's going on now_' maybe it was time to step in

"Get to know him by taking his wallet!?" she all but yelled

Roxas smirked; this was so typical of him and even though it **was** amusing he had to stop it, that much was very clear "Uhh guys? What's happening?"

"Ah! Rox!" the bully stated grinning at the sight of the blond "Nothing really, just hanging out, isn't that right buddy?" he asked turning his head towards the other boy still trapped under his arm with a mocking expression

"C'mon Axel, give the wallet back, they're with me" The blond rolled his eyes

"Oh really, now?" Axel got his face close to the new guy's "Is that true?" he asked with a wolfish tone of voice that screamed danger. Pence nodded furiously not daring to make eye contact "well aren't you lucky? Any friend of Roxas is a friend of mine… while he's around at least" The tall guy smiled wickedly and then proceeded to put the pouch on the palm of his hand in front of the brown haired teen and finally releasing the boy from his other arm and placing in on top of one of his bent knees. Pence looked at him incredulously without moving

"What? You don't want it?" Axel taunted. The poor guy couldn't even move "No? Alright then, then I guess I'll be keeping thi-"

Axel had started to withdraw the pack but was interrupted as someone snatched it from his hands. It couldn't have been the new guy, he was too much of a coward to do so, so the next best bet was Roxas. The redhead stood straight and flicked a half smile at him

"**Thank you**, Axel, we can take it from here" the blond snarled giving the read head a sideways stare

"You're not funny Roxas"

The half-smile on Axel's face turned into a scowl as he turned his gaze to the other two, he slightly bent over once again to Pence and stated with a teasing voice "The name is Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" he chuckled while he turned to walk away giving Roxas a somewhat playful punch in the chest as me passed by.

The two brunets sighed in relief but the blond never took his sight away from Axel walking away uphill towards the school.

"Well, that was a thing" the chubby stranger mentioned letting go of a breath in relief and placing his palm in his chest as if trying to calm himself down

"That Idiot makes my skin crawl" Olette complemented

"I know right? isn't that cool?" Roxas added with a simper "So what the hell happened?" he asked handing the wallet to the other guy

"Axel's an asshole and Pence made eye contact! That's what happened!" the girl howled completely furious, she was normally all mother hen about everything that's why if you ever hear her curse then you know she's completely pissed off, the blond on the other hand couldn't help but laugh and shake his head at the whole situation

"You made eye contact with Axel? You don't ever make eye contact with Axel, dude. Otherwise green will be the very last thing you will ever see"

The new guy was visibly ashamed clutching his hike "W-What wrong with him?"

"He's a Pyscho, that's what's wrong with him" she grumped

"Nah, he's just misunderstood" The blond pointed out as he walked towards the school he bent both arms upwards placing his hands in the back of his head as he strolled, Olette and Pence were soon catching up with him to the side.

"I don't know how you can be his friend" the girl said to which Roxas rolled his eyes. This was the perfect example to what he was saying just a moment ago, he got involved with both and now he had to deal with them and their discussions which were actually quite often. At least Axel had the decency to never hit a girl. Gentlemen still exist, huh?

"Thank you, by the way" added the new guy "I'm Pence"

"Yeah, I figured as much" he answered sarcastically "I'm Roxas" wasn't it obvious that he was Roxas? They said his name three times! Damn social rules. "Roxas Strife, nice to meet you" he lied

"I owe you one Roxas" Pence gave him an almost forced smile, probably because he was still suffering from the awkwardness of the situation, it was a nice gesture nonetheless

"Yeah! We haven't even started the year yet and you already saved me" Olette added with a slight agitated voice thanks to the inclined hill

The blue-eyed boy smiled, okay maybe social relationships weren't so bad: he was about to enjoy this: "You know how you can repay me?" this drew her attention "you could finally confess to Hayner"

Pence's head whiped at his cousin in surprise "Wha!?"

"It was a secret Roxas, thank you very much!" she squealed trying to hide her face in her hands, she was red as a tomato

"Pff, a secret? Yeah right! Everyone knows that you're head over heels for him!" Roxas finally brought both arms down and gave her a small friendly nudge teasing her as he said so

Her face paled in horror at the thought of her best friend finding out about her little secret, You've never seen a face going from red to white so fast "Do you think he knows too!?" The Horror.

"Nah, he's to oblivious to everything that happens around him" Roxas was actually enjoying this

"woah woah woah!, slow down" the other boy interjected "who do you like again?" Pence asked to the girl waving his hands around for emphasis. The great fence gates of the institution came to view. It was a rather large building in the center surrounded by small little ones

"He's… just a friend, okay?" she replied as they entered through the school's gates. Pence looked at Roxas for a confirmation to what she had just said, Roxas smiled and shook his head no

"Wait! There he is" she whispered, her heart felt as if it broke in pieces when she saw him talking with another girl, who was she?, what was she doing with Hayner? Why Hayner never mentioned her before? Yes, despite all of this she considered herself as" just a friend".

They walked through the garden in uncomfortable silence right next to Hayner and the mysterious girl. He didn't seem to noticed them and were now walking up the stairs to the main building of the "slaughter house"

Just when the thought they were safe Hayner started to wave at them and basicly jump to get their attention. He kissed the girl goodbye in her cheek and rushed towards them, to say that Olette's blood was boiling was an understatement.

"So Pence, can I see your schedule?" The blond asked casually, the boy didn't even answered, he just handed it to him from one of his pockets "Hmmm, seems like you have Algebra II with me"

"Sweet, so I won't be a total outcast" the new guy cheered completely oblivious

"Don't be so sure, if things go down the hill I'll pretend that I don't know you" he stated in a very serious way. He wasn't kidding

The other didn't know how to answer to that, luckily for him he didn't need to because another blond guy came rushing, the same guy who waved at them form the garden at the entrance

"Hey guys! how was your summer?"

"Hi Hayner" Olette didn't sound very pleased and before Hayner could say anything else she cut in "hey guys I gotta go now, Roxas will take you to your class" she reassured to her cousin "right Rox?" of course not, Roxas didn't wanted to, be he had no option when she ran away from them, whether it was out of sadness or anger he didn't know. He would have to talk with her later.

"What's wrong with her?" Hayner asked intrigued and a little worried

"Dunno, bro, bathroom maybe?"Roxas shrugged

"Oh sorry!" the new blond referred to the brunet "You must be Pence, right?"

Roxas had to resist the urge to face palm! He knew this would be happening all day. Wasn't it enough when Olette said: '_Oh hey guys! Great news! My cousin, Pence, will be joining the school after summer_' Uhgg and now he had to stick with him make sure that he did not get lost and basically be his guide

"Rox?"

"Uh?" Hayner pulled Roxas out of his trance by waving a hand in front of his face, he could be too distracted for his own good sometimes

"What's your first class?"

"Uhh Algebra?" Seriously why would he have algebra as the first class? Did the teachers seriously think that's a good idea? Most of the students still were half-asleep at this point of the day and they throw math as the first subject!? '_off to a good start indeed_'

"Great! So we're together in the first class" Hayner announced with a huge smile. How could he be so happy? Their teacher this year was Mr. Luxord, didn't he know that he was infamous for failing almost everyone in the class? Hayner was basically hated by every teacher in the institution so Luxord would probably make his personal goal to destroy him at any cost and yet that silly smile never left Hayner's face.

"So…" a little more fun before getting into class could not possibly be so bad right? "Hayner, will you finally confess to Olette?" Roxas looked smug

The expression of surprise in Pence's face and the horrified one in Hayner's were just priceless, Roxas turned to Pence with a sly smile and winked at him knowingly

"I… don't know dude, we're very close friends, it would make everything very awkward" Hayner reasoned while looking at the shiny linoleum floor probably trying to hide the undeniable blush. Roxas turned to Pence who mounted "Wow" without making a sound.

"Alright Hayner, just think about it okay? Who knows, maybe she likes you back" The mischievous way in which Roxas said it was almost frightening

Teasing them was so much fun. He knew very well that someday they would actually get together and Roxas would have to explain why he kept taunting them but right now he didn't bring himself to care

"I'll think about, but I don't make any promises" Hayner sounded defeated while wondering why in the world the brunet was giggling like a mad man.

"Well, this is the class room then" Roxas stated after many rows of identical gray colored lockers. Roxas stepped inside, followed by the other blond but when Pence was about to cross the doorstep he was stopped by a palm on his chest "Not you buddy, sorry, you gotta wait till the teacher calls you in"

"I don't have to introduce myself to the whole class, do I?" the brown haired boy whined looking up at his new "friend"

"In every single one of your classes" Roxas grinned looking down back at him "It's not as bad as you think, just don't make eye contact again, okay?" and with that he turned around leaving a very distressed Pence behind strolling to the back part of the room to sit next to "his bro", a silly little title they put to each other after years of friendship

The room was actually very big. Rows and rows of chairs, some of them were already occupied by other students chatting around and catching up after the summer break. In front part of the room there was a step that would give the teacher a few inches of height above the students, a huge desk on top of it by the side of three big white boards in the middle of the front wall.

"Poor guy, he doesn't know what awaits him" Roxas said while sat near Hayner next to a window. Probably a bad idea since he tends to space out a lot

"Then I guess he's about to find out, huh?" Hayner stated mockingly "So how was your summer, Rox?"

"Not gonna lie dude, I'm kinda bummed down; my favorite character died in the book I'm reading" he joked

Hayner shook his head at his friend's antics "We've all been there, but you'll get past it, I promise"

The smile turned into a grin "Yeah I guess. Life goes on… you know… for me"

The classroom got awfully quiet as a loud voice called "Silence!" all of the sudden, at the entrance was the fearful teacher, Mr. Luxord followed behind by Pence nor far behind. The guy didn't even looked like a teacher, his hair was so bright blonde that it almost seemed white, he had an ear piercing and traces of what looked like a half-hidden tattoo at the crook of his neck

"Alright kids, I am Sebastian Luxord and I will be your algebra II teacher, if you didn't noticed that before then we'll have a problem!" the elder professor stated with both arms behind his back with a menacing voice walking from one side to another at the front of the classroom almost like stalking the students "You might've heard about me and my methods and I assure you that whatever you heard is true, I will not- " he stopped dead in his tracks as he heard someone whispering something to the far left of the room "Yes Mrs Williams! I am a sour grumpy old man! Care to explain why you are talking in my classroom!?"

The teacher basically jumped from where he stood towards the poor girl placing both hand in the table and leaning dangerously close, To say that Roxas was surprised was an understatement, he was closer than Luxord had been and he didn't heard the girl saying anything at all. After a few seconds (that looked like an eternity) and seeing that Williams was pretty much wetting herself Luxord decided to end her misery "Get the hell outta here, now!" then came the awkward silence as everyone waited quietly until Williams packed everything back inside her backpack left the room all while Pence was just standing there dumbfounded and visibly shaking. His first class in this school had just started and he had been in a catatonic state twice this day, tough luck.

"The teachers are allowed to do that?" Hayner mouthed barely about a whisper to Roxas

"I think he has friend in the syndicate" Roxas explain in the same manner, but it was loud enough for Luxord to turn his angered face at him staring daggers at him for one…two…three seconds and then he looked away. He truly dodged a bullet.

"I don't like this much more than any of you, kids, but we're stuck together whether we like it or not. You may not like my methods but if you manage to keep up I promise you that you'll be prepared to anything life throws at you by the end of the year" he waved a finger for emphasis as he walked back at the front of the room "And for those who don't care about any of that then I can only tell you to behave yourselves, deliver your homework in appropriate time and form and there shouldn't be any trouble"

He turn around to see the Brunet eying him like a deer in the headlights "Uhh, you" the professor grumped as he took the note from Pence's hand, it seemed like he had forgotten totally about him "Apparently a new student will be joining us this year" he handed (shoved) the note back to Pence and walked towards the desk taking a seat, placing his legs on top f the desk and his hands in the back of his head "Introduce yourself, kid"

"I- uhh, My name is P-Pence, Pence Walker. I-I come from T-Traverse town"

Roxas was barely resisting the urge to laugh at the guy '_this boy seriously lacks of confidence, perhaps I could help him with that… if this ever stops being so funny_'

"Okay kids, I expect you to treat Mr. Walker like an equal. Walker, you may take seat wherever you like for now" he dismissed him waving his hand at him.

Pence walked towards the empty seat next to the blonds in a complete submissive manner "Can I sit with you guys?"

"Sorry, do I know you?" the smug expression in Roxas' face was priceless, he was not kidding. The defeated brunet walked a bit farer to the back of the room and sat down all while Hayner tried not to chuckle like crazy and failed miserably. That did not go unpunished

"You!" Mr. Luxord yelled across the room pointing at Hayner whose laughter died within a second "Stand up"

He did so almost instantly, like a reflex "What's your name?" Luxord inquired from his desk

"I-I'm Hayner Collins, sir" sir? Okay the teacher was a very strict but he wasn't a marine… right?

"Ahhh, Collins. Yes I've been warned about you" he snickered standing up "Collins, define Algebra" he ordered

Hayner seemed paler at the question, it was something math related but… what was it? Oh god he's totally lost "It's- uhh" the professor saw Hayner fidgeting his thumbs trying to come up with something

"What is a variable?" Luxord pushed on

"A-a variable… it's a letter that-"

"A letter!?" The professor shouted loudly followed by an onslaught of laughter from everybody in the class. This surely was going to be an interesting year.

"You could've warned me about the teacher, guys" Pence protested as they walked across the cafeteria after getting a portion of food. This day's menu: raw pasta and a cold piece of chicken (which may as well could've been rat) "… or the food for that matter" he added looking with disgust at the tray

"It doesn't taste as bad as it look" Hayner said trying to comfort him, and it was actually true, people did not give the cook enough credit.

"Don't worry about Luxord" came his cousin from behind "just keep a low profile and you'll be fine"

"Yeah, yeah. Let me guess 'never make eye contact'" Pence said adding air quotes and lowering his voice an octave as he said so "is everyone here a douche?" It took him a second to realize what he had just said"... no offense guys"

"None taken" Roxas reassured him "and no, you're just having a shitty day. People say that Luxord used to have a small fortune but he lost everything to gamble games. Ever since he's been a grumpy guy, that's all" he explained

Their little group walked looking for a table to sit at the cafeteria, boy they truly needed a break, after their torture in Algebra it was turn for the teacher Vexen to do so too, killing them with boredom with history class, and finally a somewhat decent one with Mr. Marluxia in Biology. This was a nice change of pace which did not last long.

Roxas spotted something; a dreadful nest of chestnut hair walking in their direction, a redhead girl and a guy with long silver hair. Everyone in both groups fell silent and the tension was palpable, the air seemed so thick at that very moment. As they passed by each other the mysterious brunet boy collided Roxas' shoulder with his own and walked away, or he tried since Roxas placed his foot in front of his making him trip slightly, the boy did not fell but some of his food did. Roxas never stopped walking and never looked back but the satisfaction made itself present in his face when he heard something falling to the floor. He was pleased

They finally reached a table and the awkward situation was over as fast as it had started, they all sat down leaving a very confused Pence wondering what the hell had just happened and he voiced it out

"Uhh guys? What was that all about?"

"Leonhart" Roxas answered through his teeth as he placed a spoonful of pasta in his mouth

"yeah… I'm gonna need more than that" the brunet said sarcastically

"Okay look" Olette interjected "You see that table?" she asked pointing discreetly where the other group had gone and waiting until her cousin nodded "Those are the influential guys of the school, they're all either on the blitzball team or the struggle team"

"Yeah I know blitzball, I'm a huge fan, but what the hell is struggle?" Pence turned from the table to Olette

Hayner decided to get in the conversation "it's another sport, not as popular but it is very important in this region of the country, it's kinda like kendo but I guess it's not so popular because most schools prefer fencing over struggle since it's potentially dangerous. Basically two guys inside a circle beating each other to close death with iron bars which emulate swords"

Before Pence had any chance to voice his opinion in the freakish sport Olette joined in once again"The big guy and the blond one are Wakka and Tidus, blitzball team stars" she pointed at them as she explained "The redhead is Kairi, cheerleader and slut of the community" it was no secret that Olette hated Kairi's guts. Jealousy, maybe? "The guy with silver hair is Riku Lebron, He's the son of the principal Xehartnot. He and the guy with brown hair next to him, Sora Leonhart, are in the struggle team"

"Okay… that's very nice and all but that doesn't explain what just happened" Pence voiced exasperated

"Look" Hayner said in the same manner placing his arms in the table leaning towards him "Have you ever heard the name of Squall Leonhart?" Pence shook his head "Well get used to it because he's a legend here in Twilight town, that guy attended to this same school and not only he was in the struggle team, he was the greatest Struggler this town had ever seen, he even won a couple of national tournaments"

"'Was' being the keyword there" Olette said "Until a freshman defeated him"

"So?"

"Pence just think about!" Hayner was getting desperate "He was the greatest Struggler of all times, he was never defeated before, but then during the last year as a senior, a freshman, Cloud Strife, came out of nowhere and defeated- no, humiliated him! Squall lost the streak, his position as the captain, his status of legend, he never was the same" Hayner explained a little too loud

"Okay… three is the lucky charm, how that explains what just happened?" Pence was getting tired

"Pence!" His cousin called at the verge of yelling at him "Sora is Squall's little brother"

"And Cloud is Roxas' big brother" Hayner completed

Pence eyes great at the size of plates and turn around to see surprised at Roxas who was silent all that time. He was almost done with his food, just hovering on top of his tray

"You're the brother of a legend? That's so awesome!" He exclaimed gleeful "are you on the struggle team?" he was excited

"No it's not" Roxas uttered emotionless "and no, I'm not"

"Why not?" Pence turned to him incredulous

"Because Sora is an idiot" Roxas looked up irritated "Apparently the rivalry passed down to us too"

"But that doesn't make any sense" he argued "can't you guys just talk it out?"

Roxas chuckled as he shook his head "Y'know you start to remind me of Tifa" a puzzle look appeared in Pence's face "and no, I've tried that already but we just can't talk without ending up in a fight. If I say left he'll say right, if I say waffles he'll say pancakes, if I say Mass Effect he'll say Halo, if I say Skyrim he says Dark Souls… that's just the way it is"

"That's just wrong" the brunet seemed disappointed "but FYI Dark Souls has a better combat system"

Roxas rolled his eyes "Not the point Pence"

"So what happened to Squall and Cloud?"

Hayner interjected "Well Squall was coach in this school for a couple of years but he just joined a professional team of Struggle and Cloud…"

"He quit" Roxas answered sour and dryly"he doesn't struggle anymore"

"Why?" it might have come of Pence's mouth but that's only because he beat everyone to the punch; that's what everyone was thinking, why would Cloud quit Struggle if he was so good at it? If he loved it so much?

"I wish I knew that Pence" Roxas mouthed with a sad smile

**okay so there's the first chapter! please leave a review and let me know what you think? should i continue?, add/remove modify something? :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry this took so long but I just couldn't write because… well reasons. Anyway! I got 7 amazing reviews! Okay, okay I should count it as 6 since two are form the same person but it'll be seven for my own sake! :D**

**Despite that I'm back in business I don't think I'll be able to post another chapter before December 25****th****. So if that's the case I wish you all a merry Christmas!**

**As always I'd like to thank ALonelyDreamer for being my Beta and his support towards this fiction!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot, every character and/or any other reference to the game is property of Disney and Square Enix. No Copyright intended **

**Warning: This fiction contains (or eventually will contain) strong language, mentions of abuse, mature themes, mentions of homosexual and heterosexual relationships among others, if any of these offends you, you're advised to leave this story**

**Here we go guys!**

**Chapter 2**

You know, Roxas has learned that the best way to live was going out there and grab the life by the nuts, to make people hear you and gain your own voice no matter what, but he did not mean to get in trouble. The day was coming along quite nicely but somehow he managed to screw it all up, now he had a bunch of students staring at him excitedly waiting for someone to throw the first blow. How did he end up in the middle of a fist fight with Sora Leonhart in the first freaking day?

See it all started right after the chemistry class; Roxas was leaving the classroom, the day was almost over, only one more class and he'd be free for the rest of the day, in order to do that though, he needed to survive the coach Laxaeus' PE class. That guy is intimidating; He was your average and stereotypical big, buff and cranky coach. He was also in charge of the Struggle team, in fact he used to be in a few Struggle Major Leagues but he was kicked from all of them, the reason being unsporting behavior: he was way too aggressive in battle and did not take defeats well. Actually, not only he was a sore loser but a bad winner too. He was like a bull. Roxas did not hate school as many would think, but when you spend half of your time dealing with your nemesis and the other half with freaky teachers like these, things could be a little bit too much to handle.

He walked towards the gym where he would meet with Hayner and Olette. Roxas could not help but worry about Pence; this was the first time in the day where he would actually be all by himself, would he be okay? It was fairly easy to get lost in this school trying to find the right building or the right classroom. Roxas was actually worrying about someone who just met this morning. That was particularly odd…

As he approached the main door to the gym he saw both Hayner and Olette at the distance waiting for him. They got there early, probably Olette's doing, she probably dragged Hayner with her towards the gym to avoid get in trouble and, with a terrifying Coach like that, can you blame her? Or perhaps she just wanted to spend some time with Hayner, either way it means Roxas wouldn't have to wait for his "bro" to arrive

Roxas finally picked up the pace and trotted to them "Hey guys"

"Hey Rox!" they both greeted back "We were waiting for you" Olette added meekly

"From where I was standing it seemed like you two were enjoying the view" he replied with a half smile while walking inside the building. Both Hayner and Olette stared at each other with red faces not entirely sure how to react

"Yeah, it's a- er… nice day" Olette wanted to scold herself as soon as that poor "save" left her mouth. Weather, Olette? Seriously? That was soooo bad, luckily for her none of the males seemed to push forward on the matter: she threatened Roxas with her stare daring him to do so, and prayed to any and every god for Hayner not to, one of them smiled at her

They all entered into the gymnasium, it was a rather large structure; a roofed gym with a big basketball field in the middle surrounded in three of the four walls by stands for people to sit. You could find two secondary entrances at the extremes of the field and one huge main entrance at one of the sides of it

"Uhhh… Olette, Roxas and I will go to change at the locker room, see you here in five, is that okay?" she simply nodded giving them an "alright" before leading towards the girl's locker room across the main entrance. Roxas and Hayner headed towards the boy's locker room which, just like the girl's, was across the field but separated from hers by a huge, spacious and almost clear "utility" room in the middle which was used as storage for several items: balls, weights, ropes, gym mats, Struggle blades, you name it, but it was also used as a room for specialized training, meaning that any student (with the permission of the coach) could stay there after school hours to practice and/or train. The coach Laxaeus would stay with them most of the times though, to help them train and to keep an eye on them.

Roxas entered a small cubicle, locked the door behind him and proceeded to kick his shoes off, unbutton his shirt and remove the black undershirt exposing his torso

"Hey Rox!" a voice came from the adjacent stall, it was Hayner's "There's something that I've wanted to tell you… but I didn't had the chance"

"Uhmmm…" Roxas stopped right before pull down his uniform pants "And you decided to bring this up just now? I'm a little creeped out Hayner"

"Ha-Ha" he replied sarcastically "I'm serious dude"

"So am I" Roxas pulled up his uniform brown sports shorts and he leaned against one of the walls of the stall as he did so to keep himself from falling

"Rox, just listen, there's this girl that I want you to meet" what? This had Roxas' attention, Hayner playing as a match-maker? No good could come out of this "She's the girl that I was talking to, this morning, the girl with the brown hair?" Ohhh, well that explains a lot but also raises many other questions, maybe it was better if he played it cool until he finds out a little bit more about all this

"No dude, I don't recall seen anyone" the blue eyed blond snatched his uniform shirt, a white polo shirt with the emblem of the school embroidered over at its left side with golden string

"Really? You passed right next to us. Oh well, her name is Selphie. She's amazing dude! I think you two could really hit it off"

"Wait, you don't mean Kairi's moon, do you?" It might sound mean but that girl was nothing but trouble. In reality, Olette was the best that could've ever happened to Hayner; other than his brunette friend (and crush) he had an awful taste on girls when it comes to attitude

"Kairi's moon?"

"Yeah, that girl who follows Kairi around everywhere she goes, you know, the one who was caught with Wakka in the utility closet?" oh boy, that was the biggest gossip of the year, just try to picture it: the prefect walking along the janitor explaining the little "accident" that happened in the chemistry lab and how it needed to be cleaned, just then he opens the door and a big chubby guys falls down at his feet with his pants down and a lean girl following him not far behind. It was even worst by the fact that they both had a girlfriend and a boyfriend, well, they didn't after that day. Roxas finished up tying his tennis shoes and stepped out now fully clothed and ready

"That was **her**!?, I didn't know she was that Selphie"

"I'm pretty sure she is. Dude, why would you set me up with someone? How do you even know her?" Roxas added now turning to face Hayner as he finally opened the door stepping out wearing a matching uniform

"'Cause" Hayner shrugged "I took this job during summer at the cinema and she happened to just drop by, I guess she recognized me or something because she just came up to me and started to, like, chat and stuff" Hayner explained as he walked to the exit and towards the gym with Roxas following not far behind "She asked me a lot about you, I'm pretty sure she likes you Rox"

"And you just set me up with her without even asking me first? Please tell me you didn't set up a date already" the mere thought of being with her was enough to make his stomach twist into a knot, only god knows how many diseases she had.

"No, I didn't. But I think she, kind-of, wants to meet you"

"Kind-of? What do you even mean?"

Hayner scratched the back of his head searching for the right words. No matter how he said it, it would've freaked Roxas out anyway. "Well, she asked me your phone number"

The blue eyed boy stopped dead in his tracks. Crap. He really didn't want some random girl going after him, especially not Selphie Tilmitt. What good could possibly come from dating her? Or anyone for that matter? It may sound cynical, but relationships were nothing but a complete waste of time, they only slow you down, they make you dependant of someone, and ultimately ended up destroying you. Love is a plea for annihilation, he knew that much… he **knew** it

When Hayner realized he wasn't being followed he stopped and turned around to look at his friend: he was unusually pale

"Rox-"

"You didn't give her the number, right?"

"I thought it was a good idea! I don't know why you are complaining! I basically just got you a date and you're bitching me around. "

"Did you?"

Hayner noticed the coldness in his friend's voice, not "angry cold" but something else… Hayner shook his head "No, I didn't, that's why I wanted to talk with you first"

"Good" he picked up the pace to catch up with the taller guy "Just don't, okay? Whatever you plan on doing just consult it with me first, alright?"

"Okay…" the brown eyes boy couldn't help but think that he really screwed it up this time

"Strife!"

Roxas winced at the familiar voice, did I mentioned that coach Laxaeus yelled a lot? Roxas took this class with him the last year and knew the man pretty well. He was bold, strict, direct and downright annoying. He always got his way. In fact he even was the PE teacher for Cloud as well back at the time when he studied here. One way or another the young Strife knew what was coming and braced himself for it. Roxas signaled to Hayner to go ahead, he'd deal with the testosterone mountain by himself

"Yes coach?" he almost cringed when he head those loud footsteps getting near

"Glad to see you join us this year as well" he spoke a little too loud to him giving him a single maybe-not-so-light pat in the back.

"Ah- Thanks coach, i Hope you, uh, had a nice summer?" the blond placed a hand on his sore shoulder rolling it aroinf trying to ease the pain

"Yeah, Yeah I did, whatever. Listen! Struggle Try-outs are this Friday after school, will I see you there as well?" Aaand there it is! there was no way he'd be so polite to someone who he considered "beneath him" unless he wanted something from that person.

"Ah, coach, er… i-I don't think so sir, i-"

But as I said, Coach Laxaeus always got his way

"Listen Strife" there was a low menacing tone in his voice; the cheerful voice turned into a grim one "You're a smart guy. You know that straight A's are not enough to get you in a good college. You're good in Struggle, I've seen you, but you need some practice" Roxas turned away exasperated sighing, the man was certainly not going to convince him by criticizing his skills, especially since Roxas was better than any of the applicants and they both knew that. The coach continued "With your help and the right training I now we can go to nationals, I can make a recommendation with some friends, I believe I still have a few contacts. How great would that look in your college application?"

"A-and if I refuse?"

The serious expression on Laxaeus face changed, the extremes of his mouth pulled upwards in a wolfish, wicked smile and whispered "Then I will make this class a living hell for everyone in it, especially you, they will all want to 'thank you' for that, I'm sure of it"

"I-uhmm... I'll consider it coach"

"I know you will, now get in line the class is about to start" he ordered crossing his arm and nodding towards students signaling him to leave.

"Yes, coach" the blond muttered under his breath, loud enough to be heard by the tall man

Roxas strolled back to Hayner and Olette who were already formed in line at one of the extremes of the field, he couldn't help but turn his gaze at the right were he spotted Selphie scanning his body up and down. Gross. It was no surprise that she was right next to Kairi. Selphie seemed to be eyeing him up like a piece of meat while she hold Leonhart's arm close to her chest for dear life. Yet another reason to stay away from her: being with her means being closer to that idiot.

"How did it go?" asked Olette just above the whisper once Roxas stood next to her but before he could answer the coach started to yell yet again.

"Alright! Everyone shut up!" they all did, well most of them. Certain brunet kept on talking with an albino guy at the other side of the field

"Some of you already know me, I'm the coach Laxaeus and I know that most of you took the class with Squall Leonhart last year, for those let me warn you: This class won't be as easy" he looked over at Sora's direction, he was still talking with Riku. Laxaeus walked ominously towards him. No one would take his class as a joke, **no one**. He stood tall in front Sora who seemed to be trying to laugh out loud at something, only when the coach's shadow was over him Leonhart realized the trouble he was in.

"Squall Leonhart is an athlete but not a leader, he was **nothing** but a huge disappointment" he snarled at Sora's face. How could he say that when Squall was out there in a Struggle team succeeding in what Laxaeus had failed? It was obvious: the coach wanted to get to Sora's nerves, the brunet was looking down at his feet, most people would say he was scared but Roxas knew better, he noticed Sora trembling not out of fear but rage. He was containing himself to shot back something at the coach, if he did then he would be doomed "Family bonds will no longer save you, kids" Laxaeus whispered backing his head away now talking to Riku as well

"Those who took the class with him probably went soft" he stated daring anyone to contradict him, looking especially at Riku and Sora "And I'm gonna fix that. First I want you to warm up; each of you will trot 20 laps around the field"

Everyone looked at each other a bit unsure at first. It only took the a couple of seconds to react but just as they had just set off Laxaeus placed his index finger and thumb in his mouth whistling loudly and gaining everyone's attention "Everybody! Get back in line!" the confusion came back as they all just formed again.

"I believe gave you an order, when I give you an order you must let me know you understood it by saying 'yes, coach', is that clear?" they all nodded

"Is that clear!?"

"Yes, Coach!" everybody yelled.

"Well? Didn't I tell you to start running?" This guy was even worse than Luxord.

"Yes, Coach!" they yelled again and with that they set off, most of them grudging and cursing him under his breath, Laxaeus actually heard them but he simply brushed it off, that kind of reaction was to expect but most importantly, He didn't care. It's not like someone would ever stand up against him. The only person who ever did left the school a few years ago.

A couple of minutes later most students had lower their pace, summer does nothing good to your physical condition and many classmates were paying the price now, Olette being the most notorious one gasping for breath, giving her best to go on, she knew she'd be in serious trouble with the coach if she stopped.

"How are you holding?"

The brunette basically jumped when she heard Roxas' voice next to her, so she was so slow that Roxas had a lap of advantage on her!? Great, just great.

"Not… so good…" she was barely able to answer through gasps and raspy breaths; she sounded awful, like a sick dog.

If it wasn't for the fact that it was rather creepy and a bit worrisome the blond would've mocked at his friend's condition but instead he simply rolled his eyes at her. She needed some kind of physical activity, seriously. It seemed like her heart was about to explode. He even had to slow down his pace so she could keep up with him.

"Come on, just a few more laps and you'll be done."

"this… is only … the warm up" she reminded him mortified, Roxas smiled, this was way too easy for him, mainly for jumping around from a roof to another, or the fact that he practiced struggle with Hayner in his house's backyard all the time(who, by the way, seemed to be doing alright as well) this was nothing.

"And I'll be with you in every step" he beamed so… breezy it made Olette get maybe a little too frustrated at his friend.

"No… you won't… if the coach… sees us talking… we'll be screwed"

"Not me, I already finished my laps, I just wanted to catch up with you" he stated teasingly. So not only was one lap of advantage but four!? Way to rise up your self esteem, right?

"Then…I'll be… go away"

"You won't either. Laxaeus is trying to convince to join the team, he'll be nice to us"

She whipped her head at him in surprise, Roxas never wanted to join the Struggle team, so why now? She had a whole lot of question she wanted to ask, but in that state she was, she was only able to make one "But … will you?"

"Nope, and he will hate me when I refuse, but by then only I'll pay the price"

The expression in Olette's face changed into a deep horror once those words spun around in her mind for a few seconds "Oh god! … Are you sure you won't…screw us all? … I can't even …keep up as it is"

That last part came more as a breath than words. Roxas squirmed at that response; he couldn't bear to watch that desperate look on Olette's eyes. He didn't care about the others, nor did he care about the possibility of a revenge on him, he knew how to take care of himself. He did care about his friends though, he had no intentions to be a party pooper, specially not for her "I'll… take care of him, I swear, I won't let things get out of hand to bite you in the ass"

She was quiet for quite a bit, just running next to him, every once in a while she'd look at him as if she was analyzing him, studying him, sizing her words before saying them.

"Are you going to let him defeat you?"

"No, that's I won't do try-outs, he can look for somebody else to-"

"Not the coach" she cut "Sora"

This brought Roxas attention. He eyed her curiously tilting his head, he even dropped his pace a little bit allowing her to run pass him '_…what?_'

He ran after her to catch up, which wasn't too much of a challenge "What does Leonhart have to do with any of this?" he asked a little annoyed at his friend's advances

"You love struggle … you're giving up … you let him … ruin it for you" she explain through shallow breaths. She just hit a nerve

"I could defeat that clown any time!" he growled in a low voice to avoid drag unwanted attention towards them. Sora had a good strategy; he'd give him that, but could not endure long fights, he grows desperate and starts becoming more frantic, erratic and careless, he starts making mistakes which lead to his defeat, and he always lefts his left side exposed, that's why Leonhart was such a terrible Struggler, he could beat Sora any day of the year, seriously.

"You'd have… to cheat" she joked around at which Roxas responded with a cold stare

"Why do you …let him … keep you out?" Olette asked rather challengingly, was she…? Was she trying to trick him into the team to help herself? Okay that hurts. Olette didn't seem like the kind of person who manipulate others, even if she tried she was completely horrible at it: Roxas saw through her the moment those word rang in his ears, but still! He thought he could trust her but it seems like she was willing to throw him to the lions to save herself. Right, right, Roxas was exaggerating but that was no excuse for what she was doing, and here he was worrying about her well being

"I…" what was he supposed to say? Snap at her? Pretend that nothing happen and follow her lead? "I guess… I don't like the confrontation?"

"Well you-"The girl immediately shut her mouth almost instinctively as if it were a mere reflex. At the corner of her eye she saw Leonhart running pass them along with Lebron, those two were awfully quiet. The very little amount of breath she had got caught in her throat. Both, Roxas and Olette, did not make a sound until the other two were out of hearing range, there's when the inevitable question popped up:

"Do you think … they heard us?"

"I-I don't think so" the blond stammered, she noticed this as well as the nervous gaze he directed to Sora, this only added to her angst

"Are you sure?"

"No, not really" he admitted "But I guess it doesn't matter right now, we can only hope for the best"

"but-"

"Look at them" he interrupted "They either did not hear, or don't care: we're off the hook" Roxas was trying to rationalize, though it seemed like he was talking more to himself than Olette

"I hope you're right" she never took her sight off those two who lowered their pace to join the coach. Apparently they finished their laps as well. At least she was getting there too.

"Hey it's your own fault, you just keep pushing on the topic" Roxas grumped at his friend's suggestions, then again he wasn't innocent himself

"Ha-ha… and you're the one… to talk?" she said sarcastically "what about all those times… when you kept pressing on …about Hayner, huh?"

"Don't be Ridiculous!" he half-yelled in a high pitched voice "I didn't threw you head first to your nemesis!" How could she possibly compare this to what he did?

"It's only fair!... it could ruin … our lives if … either find out" she was trying to justify her mistake, but of course she couldn't possibly win an argument against Roxas.

"How is this fair? If Hayner finds out, things will become awkward between you two, and I'm talking about the worst case scenario right now. If Leonhart finds out about this he may retaliate"

It was only after the damage was done when the blond realized he may have talked a little bit too much. Olette was facing Hayner worriedly. He was with that girl again, what was her name? Selphie? It doesn't matter; she tried to stay away from that girl as much as possible. If the rumors were true then the farer the better, if only she could only warn Hayner about her too. To be honest, the only reason why that Tilmitt girl wasn't more of a slut was because she'd need to pop one of her eyes out to have yet another hole in her body

"Are you okay?"

Olette was brought back to reality thank to his friends concerned calls. She shook her head as if trying to reorganize her thoughts, or perhaps maybe to shake them off. "Yeah… yeah I'm fine" though she was clearly resisting the urge to look back at his gold haired friend with disdain.

"Hey" she looked towards Roxas who gave her a reassuring smile "Listen: that girl has **nothing** on you, alright?"

She smiled fondly at him "You really think so?"

"I know it" he winked at her "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about, just try to think positive, like the fact that this is your last lap, come on!" he tried to cheer her up and quickened his pace a little bit daring her to keep up. By the time Roxas arrived he turned his face backwards expecting her to be right behind him. Nope.

Olette arrived basically dragging her legs and literally let her body fall as soon as she was next to Roxas, gasping desperate for breath with her arms spread like wings. The blond laughed like crazy, bending over and placing his hands on his knees looking down at her

"Are you okay down there?"

"Stop laughing!" amazingly that came out in one go and loud enough

"I'm laughing with you, not at you" he offered her a helping hand (literally) to stand up which she slapped away giving him a cold stare

"You're full of shit" she bitter grumpily standing up on her own, she'd be damned is she allowed Roxas to make fun of her again.

"All right!" Just then the Coach's voice boomed throughout the whole gym "Everyone choose a partner to work with!"

"Yes Coach!" yelled Roxas and Roxas alone, he knew how to work with Laxaeus. After all, he had been his coach the last year and knew that, unlike Luxord, he **did **act like a marine. When everyone else heard Roxas shouting the response some people looked at each other confused, some other tried to follow him but their response came out only as a mumble.

The coach pinched the bridge of his nose looking down and sighing in desperation "Everyone but Strife do 15 push-ups" as everyone was getting down on position Laxaeus yelled again "**STOP!**" that was his characteristic shout that made him so infamous around the whole town "everyone will do 30 push-ups!, **IS. THAT. CLEAR!?**"

"Yes Coach!" now they all responded, and yes most of them cursed him under their breath yet again. Roxas wondered if Laxaeus ever was military or something, not just for his way of treating people but his methods too. ("I don't care if you can or not! You will not stop! You hear me!?")

Olette turned distressed at the guy next to him with pleading eyes, she could barely stand. Roxas was fast to reassure her placing a hand on her shoulder "We'll do it together, like last time, okay?"

She smiled. There was a light on Roxas that not many people got to see, that's why she felt so lucky, to be able to see it herself and to have a friend like him, that's why she felt so… blessed to have a friend like him. "You're too good for your own good Rox"

Just as Roxas was getting down with her he felt that loud voice near his ear again "**NOT YOU, STRIFE!**" he winced at that. Damn he missed the clock tower in comparison. He stood up looking at the bulky man standing not far away looking at him, in fact everyone was looking at him. So what if the blond wanted to share the punishment with his classmates? This clearly wasn't about him being the only one to answer to his order, so then Laxaeus wasn't lying: he was willing to make everyone hate him. "I believe I made it clear, right?"

Shit. He was expecting an answer but unlike that coward of Leonhart, Roxas knew how to deal with this guy. Laxaeus was going to be on his ass the whole year anyway. Roxas did not give a fuck anymore.

Roxas turned to face him and smiled "Since you know it all, you should know when to shut the fuck up!"

Simple and loud enough for everyone around to hear. No one was sure whether to laugh their asses off or watch how the coach was going to rip the blonds' head off.

"**WHAT!?"** yeah, the man was furious, he got closer to the teen "what are you playing, kid?" he question threateningly

"The same game as you, coach" Roxas said in a low voice and smiled at the dumfounded face of the jock "Now, will you send me to principal Xeharnot's office so he can punish me and forbid me to join any kind of club this year? Or will I do 30 push-ups?"

The man, was shaking furiously, glaring daggers into the guy's eyes who did the same thing in return, a few seconds seemed like an eternity. They were just there, daring each other to flinch until the elder finally stated in a low, shaking-in-anger voice "You'll make a hundred"

Shit. He didn't think this as thoroughly as he should have

"Yes, coach…" Roxas answered just above the whisper, Roxas knew he'd end up pretty battered by challenging the man but in the end they both also knew that Roxas had won this round. The coach retreated slowly, already thinking on plans to ensure his victory on the next one… and he got a really good plan, after all, didn't Strife had a rivalry with the Leonhart kid?

Roxas got a lot of stares, some surprised, some amused ones, most of them were admiration and only a few judging looks of disapproval because even if Laxaeus was an idiot how would Roxas dare to snap like that at his teacher and elder? He did not care about any of those gazes though he just got down already imagining the pain that would fill his body in a few minutes and started working away

"That was stupid" The feminine voice next to him mumbled, a clearly concerned voice, she wanted to feel flattered by the gesture, what Roxas did for her was truly amazing, but she had a feeling that he didn't do it just for her, not entirely

The boy chuckled amused by the event "Really? I think it was amazing"

"No-I mean, yeah! it was but…"

"I know" he stopped her in a serious tone "Don't worry, I can handle myself. He won't do anything too serious, he needs me in the team, remember?"

"Exactly, he needs you **in** the team but won't join" Olette was now having trouble to keep her own pace as well as Roxas "But after the Friday, when you don't show up at the try-outs he'll be furious. You'll die after this weekend"

"I can handle myself"

"How?"

There wasn't an answer to that question. To be honest he didn't know what he'd do. This so called 'game' would only last a week and in the end, one way or another, Roxas would lose, but he could make Laxaeus lose as well by not falling into any of his tricks, by completely ignoring the try-outs.

"Leonhart! Come here for a minute" Laxaeus yelled across the gym waving his hand at the brunette. The class had finished and everyone was now leaving the showers towards the freedom of their homes.

Sora trotted all the way up to the coach truly curious about what he might want to tell him, maybe he'd give him some kind of lecture because of his earlier banter with Riku? It was all Riku's fault! He wouldn't stop talking about how freaky their new Coach was, and then Riku made him laugh! ("Seriously! Look at that guy! He's like a mountain" "and what's up with his attitude?" "I don't know, maybe he's trying to make up for something…? ") Uhhg. If Laxaeus scolded Sora he'd sooo beat Riku's ass

Sora finally arrived with the man, trying to stay as calm as possible, he didn't know what expected him. He was in for a threat "Yes, coach?"

" Ahh, Leonhart, I've been meaning to talk with you" the man shorted the distance between them taking a step forward, too close for Sora's liking, he felt intimidated; that was probably the whole point. By now he was already expecting a punishment like the one Strife had

" S-Sir, if this is about earlier, I'm really sorry, i-"

"Forget about it" the coach cut in "Just don't let it happen again, now listen" The man smiled and crossed his arms across his chest, "Tell me, kid. Are you doing try-outs this year as well?"

"Hell yeah!" at the simple mention of that question his whole mood change in one second flat, oh boy! Was he doing try-outs this year? He was pretty sure everyone was tired of hearing him rambling about it and how much he wanted to Struggle already."Why do you ask?"

"I'm afraid to say this boy, but the training program changed"

See when you were accepted in the Struggle team you had a higher chance of being re-admitted the next year if you completed a very specific training throughout the summer break, you basically earn 'credits' that would highly increase your chances not only for getting in, but also being the team's captain, you **still** had to do try-outs but that was more of a 'for-the-record' kind of thing, you basically had the spot on the team insured, not many people did this though because not only the training was really hard but, who would give away his summer break? Sora was one of the few who did it, but if the training program changed then that means the training Sora did was not enough to give him those 'extra credits' to insure his ticket to the team, so by now you probably guessed what Sora's reaction was:

"B-But sir! You can't-… why did it change!?"

"Ahh, don't worry kid: I'm sure a boy with your skills will easily make it into the team, in the worst case scenario you lose the captaincy but Lebron gets it, I'm sure you don't mind that"

No, he didn't. Riku was his best friend in the whole world and he knew that the silver haired teen was not only a great Struggler but also an outstanding leader. Sora would follow Riku's lead without hesitation but it really came out as a shock, how could the coach change the program from one day to another without any kind of warning? Besides Sora had a title to live up to; in the Leonhart family the Struggle was basically a tradition, specially for the men, he had to show his big brother that he could do it, he had to win over where Squall failed.

"No sir, I don't mind but-"

"Good" Laxaeus was quick to shut him off "I just thought it was only fair for you to know" he stated letting his arms falling at his sides as he turned around and started to walk away "You may leave"

"Sir!" Sora called almost desperate which caused the bulky man to stop dead in his tracks and turn around acknowledging the brunet's call "I- I…" the brunet boy took a deep breath to try and get a hold of himself "I guess I'd like to know why it changed, that's all" he tried to reason, in reality he was freaking out but he didn't want to show it, besides if he snapped at Laxaeus, like that idiot of Strife did, then his chances of being captain would only go down (even more)

"Oh, well I guess I could tell you" the coach answered as he walked back next to Sora "Well, I feel like increasing the heat this season, we have very good applicants this year and with the proper training I think we can make it to the nationals"

"Good applicants? You really think we can make it to the nationals?" That's crazy! Does he really think they can make it by just "increasing the heat"? There had to be more to it, he really must have a reason to think something as farfetched like that!

The coach closed his eyes and nodded silently "Well, your brothers did win it once, remember?"

Your brothers.

Those to words repeated like a broken record in his mind over and over again…**your brothers.** This school had only won the nationals once; that one time was with Squall in the team… Squall and… oh god no! Please god no!

"S-Sir, you mean that… S-Strife will be joining!?"

Perhaps if Sora wasn't so mad right now he would have noticed the smile on the man's face or the amused tone in his response: "Roxas, yes, yes. I already talked with him and it's settled. He will be on try-outs this Friday"

And just like that Sora's world came crumbling down. Laxaeus voice was only a mere echo in the background now. Struggle had always been a sanctuary for him where he could let go of every thought and just concentrate right there and then, he didn't had to relive over and over his parents' fights, he didn't have anyone nagging at him about how his grades were dangerously low (and that's probably the reason why he didn't mind spending his summer training like crazy, he'd rather train and do something he likes before stay at home), in Struggle he was simply living the moment and now Roxas was coming to ruin it all!

Also, Sora would never say it out loud, but he had seen Roxas fight before. He was good. He was **very** good. Yet another threat against his captaincy!

"I must say that I'm very excited. With you, Lebron and Strife I think we have a winning combination" Laxaeus' banter brought Sora back to reality; he really didn't pay much attention to what the coach had just said, he probably should've been though and realized this when the man kept on talking: "In fact we were already discussing about the changes for the test"

"What- what changes?"

Laxaeus scratched the back of his head "Well the try-outs are now quick duels between the applicants, the more combats you win you get more points, if you lose then you lose points as well, the lowest scores will be ditched out and the highest score will be the captain"

How did all of this slip away from him? Riku is the principal's son! His best friend would've heard about all this, especially since Riku loves Struggle and his father knew it. Riku would've warned him

Shit…**shit!** What if Strife defeated more applicants than everyone else? Would he be the new captain? What if he defeated Riku? What if he defeated **him**? It was like his brother's story all over again!

No!...NO! He would NOT let that happen!

And just then he remembered, he remembered certain conversation he overheard with Strife and that scrawny nerdy girl… they were talking about him, they were talking about how Roxas could "defeat him any time", and they were saying something about cheating too.

The brunet was shaking visibly now, barely able to hold in his anger. It took all of his will power not to shout a curse right there and then

Laxaeus kept talking about the new program and how excited were the principal and him about their new prodigy at the Struggle team before Sora stopped him

"S-Sorry sir, i-uh… I need to go" he stammered as he watched at the corner of his eye Roxas leaving with the nerdy girl and the class' clown: Collins

Laxaeus followed Leonhart's sight and realized he was eyeing his future protégée and smiled; his plan was to create rivalry between those two and incite Roxas to attend to the try-outs, he figured if he started the rumor about Roxas being in the team he would break and would eventually go due to the social pressure. But apparently he touched a nerve in this little chat with the young Leonhart. The coach smiled

"Then you may leave"

Round two goes for Laxaeus.

Roxas was just glad the day was over, right about now he wanted to go home and get some sleep, every Monday and Thursday Tifa got off work early which means that he'd been eating real food today! Not that gross Chinese food that Nami loved so much nor the burned Mac & cheese that Cloud likes to make, but real and delicious homemade food! He was certainly looking forward to that. Thank god Tifa was a great cook, otherwise the Strife family would live off of pizza and other junk fast food

"Hey guys" Hayner asked for their attention "I heard there's this new game at the arcade, not too far, you wanna give it a try?" Hayner was actually pretty excited about the new game, he ust kept taling about it 'Gummi Spaceships' wars', in Roxas opinion that game would only cause him a seizure

"Uhh, Thanks Hayner but I really need to go home and finish unpack" Pence apologized as he scrolled down his cell phone reading some text messages from his parents

"Ohh, do you need help with that? I haven't seen my uncles in such a long time! I'd like to see them!" Olette asked excitedly waving her arms in front of her to make her point clear, at which her cousin nodded

"Sure!" Pence beamed texting his mother back "Mom will love to have you! Are you staying for diner?"

Hayner felt defeated, he really wanted her to go, but at least he could spend some time with his best bud "What about you Rox? Want to come?"

The blond scratched the back of his head considering it, he was really tired but he didn't have any kind of homework and it certainly was more fun than sleep at home, yeah sure he hated that game, but there were others."Hmm, what the hell, Okay! Just let me phone Tif and tell her that I'll be lat-"

That sentence never met an end as he felt someone tackling him with an incredible force against the lockers. The blonde felt the air leave his lungs and it became really hard to breath. From that point on everything was happening in a blur: Olette screaming, Pence hiding behind her, Hayner trying desperately to take the attacker off him but failing miserably as the attacker just shook him off as if it was nothing, everyone starting to gather around watching in amusement

Roxas suddenly snapped finding the strength to push off the coward who attacked him while he was distracted, it would have been enough force some send almost anyone flying like a ragdoll across the room, but not this one person. The blond now finally gave a good look at him

Sora?

And so this is how he got here, he had a bunch of students staring at him excitedly in a circle around them waiting for someone to throw the first blow. How did he end up in the middle of a fist fight with Sora Leonhart in the first freaking day?

"Leonhart, what the **fuck**!?" the young Strife shouted, directing his gaze briefly towards Hayner to check if he was okay, he saw him stand up to join Olette in a protective manner

"Did you seriously think no one would find out!?" Sora's voice was dripping anger and hate as he threw a punch which Roxas was barely able to dodge

"Find out about what!?" he pushed Sora once again to gain some distance between them, trying to avoid to hit him just yet, first he'd find out what the hell he was talking about, then he'd knock the living shit out of him

"Don't play stupid with me!" Roxas grew worried as he spotted Riku Lebron and Kairi Baker arriving to see what the fuzz was about. If Lebron decided to intervene he'd be in deep(er) shit, Roxas really should've been paying attention as fist connected below his right eye and into his cheekbone, this earned several cheers from the audience, mostly from boys, just as most of the girls whimpered at the dry sound of the impact.

Okay that's it

He rushed forward and just as Sora prepared to block the blond sidestepped him punching him at the left side of his ribcage, Leonhart always left his left side open, that's what made him so terrible at Struggle, and that's what was about to make him lose this fight. Just as Sora flinched at the pain Roxas took advantage to land yet another blow right at his nose sending him stumbling backwards, the blond spotted blood coming out of it and felt nothing but pure satisfaction, but he also spotted how Lebron flinched when he saw his friend hurted, he would've entered the fight by now if it wasn't because Baker stopped him in place.

"I'm not playing any games Leonhart!" Roxas thought were on overdrive on what was going on. He really needed to settle this down quick, a teacher could arrive at any second

"You're just jealous! You and your brother have always been! You're both just a pair of cheating cowards!" the brunet quickly wiped his face with his forearm. Roxas could swear Sora was about to break down crying, come on! He didn't even hit him that hard! What a puss!

"Am I supposed to be the coward!? I didn't attack you from the back!" Roxas paled when he saw Riku downright **pushing** Kairi aside and stepping forward. Luckily the cavalry arrived just at that very moment, a big, scary, strong and red haired cavalry. As Riku was walking forward he was quickly brought down with a surprise side attack from Axel straight to his face, suddenly all the cheers were muffled when the tall bully made his entrance. Even Sora backed away from the red head. Despite what Roxas thought, Leonhart wasn't a coward at all, but A: he didn't have his Blade to face the psycho of Axel Adams and B: he would not mess with Axel, that guy had no boundaries! The guy went mad and killed his own brother!

The silver haired teen tried to stand up but failed as he was very dizzy to do so, Axel walked menacingly towards the brunet at a hasty and steady pace preparing himself to wreck Sora's face. Roxs had heard the rumors about Axel, he knew that they were probably an exaggeration and he really never bothered to ask, Axel would've deny everything anyway, but he also knew that his red haired friend could take things to very high extremes.

"Axel, wait!"He ran giving his back to Sora and placing his hands on Axel's chest, if he didn't stopped him only god knows what he would do but Axel didn't seem to listen, he just kept walking "Axel don't! Let him go!"

The red head stopped and looked down at the blond "is he worth it?" he asked to the bully who in turn lets go of a breath "all right" Adams says in a low voice

"Come on guys" Roxas said to Hayner, Pence and Olette signaling them all to just leave the place

"Hey!" Roxas turned around to see an angry Sora "I better see you on try-outs this Friday!" Strife only gave him a puzzled look "No cheats, no help from anyone"

Roxas just pretended to ignore him and kept walking towards the exit. What the fuck did just happen!?

By the time they were out of the school's gates they were greeted by a blond couple, a slim, loud guy which Roxas recognized as Demyx as well as his girlfriend, the ever so frightening Larxene, don't let her feminine voice, innocent looks or cute giggle deceive you, that girl is cold! They were holding hands when they arrived and Demyx was the first to talk, "Finally! You said only 5 minutes Axel"

Before Axel could answer he was interrupted by the cute blonde "Hi Roxie! Long time no see!" she beamed at the shorter boy. It was weird though, she understands why Axel would be with Roxas, but why would he be with the others? Not to mention the awkward silence in the group, what happened?

"Hey, Larxie, how was your summer?" Roxas answered in a monotonous voice while rolling his eyes, he really wasn't in the mood to deal with the hype girl, he knew he would have to when she heard her gasp and run towards his

"Who did this to you!?" she cupped his face between her hands worriedly looking closely at the bruise below his eyes "I'm going to kill someone!"

Larxene's boyfriend shook his head disbelievingly and directing himself to the red haired boy, unlike Roxas, he looked unharmed but awfully quiet, which, by its own, was enough to know that something serious had occurred "What happened exactly? What took you so long?"

"It was nothing, you'll find out tomorrow" the red head grumped through his teeth in annoyance standing next to Roxas, he proceeded to reach for a small red box in his pants' pocket: cigarettes.

"I'll find out tomorrow? That bad? Can't you stay out of trouble, Adams?" Demyx snickered

"Who did it?" the blonde asked annoyed as the poor Strife tried to break free from her hold, eventually he just pushed her hands away completely tired about the whole situation

"Leonhart" Axel deadpanned responding to Larxene's question and lit up the cigarette in between his index and middle finger with an old looking lighter, Axel took a deep breath of the tobacco goodness allowing himself to relax, and let go of it. The tall girl huffed distressed

Roxas in exchange started coughing when he found all that smoke right into his face, he waved his hand in front of his face trying to dissipate the horrid smell "Put that thing off!"

Axel frowned at the comment and shook his head "I just saved your ass, don't be a prick, you're welcome by the way" was all he said before going at it again, his blond friend gave up as he was conscious that Axel was right, he, indeed, had just saved his ass, so he decided to just let him win for now and take a few steps away placing himself behind Pence. The poor chubby boy stiffened when he stood next to Axel not really sure how to react, the red head noticed this and laughed loudly "You're fine kid, relax" he stated before sucking at the cigarette

Pence wasn't so sure, really. Back at Traverse town he was a mild and easy going boy, he usually passed under the radar without bothering anyone or standing out in any way. Most people would think that something like that is such a disgrace, but he never really understood the fascination about standing out and being the center of attention, he was a shadow and he liked it that way, but now, in his first day of school he had made friends with a crazy group of people, almost got robbed, and now apparently he was also in the middle of crossfire between Roxas and that Leonhart guy, he had never experienced such an adrenaline rush until now… and he liked it. However still unsure about this new thrilling feeling he decided to play safe and take a few step back from Axel, you can never be too careful. He was having a shitty day, alright

"Seriously though, what happened?" Larxene asked watching Roxas turning around to leave while walking down the hill

"We're not entirely sure" Hayner joined in looking concerned at his blond friend as he followed him from behind "He just jumped out of nowhere and attacked him"

They were all walking away from the school, Demyx placed a hand around Larxene's shoulder and brought his hand to his chin humming in as he thought about what could have possibly caused this, "Are you sure you don't know anything Rox?"

"I didn't even speak to the guy!" Roxas waved his hands in front of himself in desperation to make emphasis on his point, Olette suddenly gasped as she realized something

"Do you think he heard us talking at the gym?"

The blond stopped dead in his tracks considering it and while it truly was plausible it didn't seemed to be the case "Maybe, but I don't know, I don't think so. I didn't really had much context on what he was saying, he wasn't making any sense" he quickly dismissed the thought and picked up the pace

"What talk at the gym?" Hayner asked eyeing her with curiosity

"It was nothing, we were just joking around, apparently that idiot doesn't know how to differentiate a joke" she answered looking intently at Roxas' bruise, she wanted to reach over and check it out, but she knew there was nothing she could do at the moment and, just like Larxene, would only piss him off even more

Axel chuckled when he heard the girl's response "Would you look at that! The little princess knows how to curse!" his voice was dripping amusement and sarcasm "I guess you're not the pink flower you want everyone to think you are"

"Shut up Axel!" she yelled at him in a high pitched voice while rubbing her elbow. Man, he knew how to piss her off. The read head, in turn, shook his head dropping the cigarette's end on the street mumbling "charming"

How did Roxas end up as friends with these guys? They were rude, annoying, and were good at nothing but getting in trouble! It was probably Adam's fault he was a bad influence for the good hearted Strife

"How it started it's not important" Hayner decided to intervene before those two got in a whole new fight of its own "What's important is how are you going to react to his challenge, will you show up at the gym on Friday?"

Crap. He was right; Leonhart challenged him in front of everyone! What would people think if he didn't go? What would people say about him? "I… don't know that either Hayner" he pitched the bridge of his nose trying to ease some of the stress, how did all this happen!?

Demyx nodded slowly and tried to be supportive giving his own advice "Look dude, you should just go home. You look tired; get that bruise patched up, get some rest and worry about that tomorrow" Roxas simply nodded with his eyes still closed and his hand on his face

The brunette sighed "we'll –we'll go home as well" she said hesitantly looking at Pence. Hayner nodded in agreement "okay, I'll walk you home guys, come on"

Roxas looked up at all of them and gave them a tired and forced smile "Thanks guys, and thanks Axel, dunno what would've happened if you didn't come along"

"Yeah, thanks Axel " Hayner added, he dismissed their appreciation "I don't care about any of you, I want to hear that from someone in specific" he said turning to face the brunette who looked at him with disgust "What? Am I not good enough for you, little princess?"

"See you later guys" Roxas called over his shoulder already heading home completely ignoring any kind of response thay he'd may gotten, he didn't want to stay to see yet another fight with Axel and Olette, he didn't take the sewers 'shortcut this time. He needed some time to think.

Leonhart was accusing him of something. Why did he call him a cheater though? Why the sudden outburst just now? If it was about his little chat with Olette, Sora would've jumped at him right there and then in the middle of the gym. Shit, what about Olette? Leonhart was a coward, that much was evidenced when he attacked him from the back, so who says he wouldn't do something to Olette to get to him? After all he clearly saw how Riku, his best friend, **pushed** Kairi aside, and she was supposed to be their friend! And what about the others? He may try something again and Axel wouldn't be there every time to save the day, he had to make sure they were all fine!

The answer was clear: he would go to try-outs

**:D **

**Sorry for any mistake may've slipped by, bear in mind that English is not my native language**

**Lemme know what you think down at the reviews section! I always love to hear constructive criticism!**


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